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Published on April 17, 2008

Phornsiri Manoharn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), as well as the new chairman of PATA for 2008-09 and chairman of the board for 2009-10, said she would advise all national tourism organisations and members to focus on global-warming issues.

"My first priority will be to strengthen the association's membership structure by creating consistent interaction among PATA chapters, their members and the PATA headquarters in Bangkok," she said.

PATA started talking about the mission recently at its annual meeting in Sri Lanka.

"PATA members will be asked to take more action to preserve the environment as well as discuss the causes of climate problems," she added.

Phornsiri will be the driving force in planning and implementing activities that will benefit members economically and socially, and will push for change as the tourism industry in the region expands and grows.

 "People say that aeroplanes are a major cause of global warming. In fact, manufacturing is at the forefront of the problem so we will pass this message on to everyone," said Phornsiri.

PATA is concerned about the hike in oil prices and world economic recession as the two main threats to tourism.

Environmental protection will be one of the key issues to be discussed at the PATA CEO Challenge 2008: Confronting Climate Change conference which will be held in Bangkok from April 29-30.

PATA said the number of visitors to the Asia-Pacific was 80 million in 1996 and 260 million in 2006. The figure is projected to grow gradually. With this prediction, PATA will promote Asian nations as new tourist destinations.

More than 842 million tourists are expected to travel around the world this year.

"Many countries in Asia are developing new tourism magnets such as casinos. However, this should be carefully weighed when we talk about opening gaming venues in Thailand," she noted.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation